Project "Black Betty" (bam-A-lam)

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

Well, Grandmaw's b-day party went great! Hard to imagine being around for 100 years, but she's doing it & doing it well!

Your grandma looks great.
It's great you honor her.
Grandparents deserve all the honor we can give them.
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[Jeff La]

Congrats on Grandma making 100, imagine what she has experienced in those years. Cherish the time you have with her. I can't imagine me and my wife making it to 100yo (we're the same age) she'd probably kill me before then. LOL

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

Your grandma looks great.
It's great you honor her.
Grandparents deserve all the honor we can give them.
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks! We've been having a big party for her since she turned 90. It tends to end up being like a second family reunion each year. My aunt (her youngest daughter) passed away in January, & she had always lived at home with my grandma. We were worried she might not make it to 100 after that, but she's holding strong thus far.

Originally Posted by Jeff La

Congrats on Grandma making 100, imagine what she has experienced in those years. Cherish the time you have with her. I can't imagine me and my wife making it to 100yo (we're the same age) she'd probably kill me before then. LOL

Thanks! I hear ya! It amazes me to think that she never learned to drive. I guess that has limited her experiences somewhat, but I agree that it's hard to imagine everything she's experienced over 100 years.

[Jer64]

Great thread man and I love the truck! Its perfect at the stock height, good decision! Those wedding pics turned out pretty cool with the truck in the background.
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Posted via Mobile Device

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Jer64

Great thread man and I love the truck! Its perfect at the stock height, good decision! Those wedding pics turned out pretty cool with the truck in the background.
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Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks man! I did a 360* with deciding to keep it rather stock, but I'm still sticking to the plan. I've always had custom rides that are usually lowered to some extent, but I really like the classic simplicity of these trucks when original-looking.

[likaroc13]

Nothing to report progress-wise, but I said I was keeping the thread related to what's going on in life. We celebrated our 3-year anniversary on Oct. 23. I was browsing for some other wedding pics the other day. So, I saved these & uploaded them to my Flickr account. Some are on the first page of the thread, but I believe these are larger versions. There are also a couple additional ones not found on the first page.

[likaroc13]

[likaroc13]

The second weekend in October, I got a wild hair to take a road trip. We rented a car & drove up just past the VA/NC border to access the Blue Ridge Parkway. Considering we'd never driven it, I figured it would be the perfect opportunity while we still reside on this side of the country. We only had a couple days to spend, but next time we'll allocate more & drive the whole thing. We ended up in the Greenville, SC area to spend the night, with intentions of exploring that area the next day. While riding around Greenville I came across this OG paint '65 long bed, so I had to stop & check it out. Both bedsides had pretty large dents, & the passenger rocker was dented on the underside. Otherwise it seems to be a fairly straight & solid old truck. I like the patina too.

[likaroc13]

I also came across another fellow 60-66'er through the local Craigslist. I had a pair of trim rings for sale in which he emailed about. Since it was out of my way, I had him meet my wife at her workplace to check out the trim rings. My wife informed me that he was driving a '61 Chevy pickup. She mentioned to him that I have a '66, & they had a good little conversation. Upon finding out about his truck, I asked if he could send me some pics. He gladly texted me pics, & I sent him a link to some of mine. I mentioned the forum to him as well. He said he had been to a truck site before, but he wasn't sure if it was this one. If he's not a member, at least he now knows how to find us. Here's the two pics he sent:

[likaroc13]

Spoke to my dad last night & got some encouraging news. He said his friend Mark said he would help get my new brake lines made as soon as he gets caught up with his stuff. He has all the necessary tools & is an experienced mechanic on the side. Still lots of little odds n' ends to get accomplished as well. Gotta finish installing disc brake hardware, find two 5-lug front steelies, paint/install the new Stewart water pump, secure the power steering coupler/shaft adapter, paint exterior of P/S gear box, hook up vacuum for brake booster, install new fuel sending unit, & fix turn signal issue.

My dad had acquired some 64-66 Chevy trucks/parts earlier in the year, one of which is a SWB chassis/drivetrain with late-model 350/700R-4 that has been converted to 5-lug. While the chassis is currently up for sale, the current plan is to swap the 700R-4 trans into "Black Betty." Dad's friend Mark has a lift at his shop & is familiar with everything needed to make the switch. I had become content with just keeping the Powerglide a while longer, but this will be the perfect opportunity if everything works out as planned.

Maybe she'll be rolling again by next Spring. Keeping my fingers crossed. At this point, I practically don't even remember having a classic truck. It will be like starting all over again, except this time around getting behind the wheels should be a more pleasurable drive!

[clemdaddy]

fingers crossed here too... driving this spring... man, thats huge.

[McMurphy]

Heyyyy we could both be on the road this Spring !! LoL

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

fingers crossed here too... driving this spring... man, thats huge.

Thanks Clem. Not counting my chickens before they hatch, but I sure hope so. Can't do much motorcycle riding in the winter, so I hope that works in my favor. .....I think this weekend will officially mark 3 years since she's been down.

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Heyyyy we could both be on the road this Spring !! LoL

Yaaaay Murph! Would be great wouldn't it?

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

The second weekend in October, I got a wild hair to take a road trip. We rented a car & drove up just past the VA/NC border to access the Blue Ridge Parkway. Considering we'd never driven it, I figured it would be the perfect opportunity while we still reside on this side of the country. We only had a couple days to spend, but next time we'll allocate more & drive the whole thing. We ended up in the Greenville, SC area to spend the night, with intentions of exploring that area the next day. While riding around Greenville I came across this OG paint '65 long bed, so I had to stop & check it out. Both bedsides had pretty large dents, & the passenger rocker was dented on the underside. Otherwise it seems to be a fairly straight & solid old truck. I like the patina too.

You were pretty close to us, we're just below Greenville in Anderson! That long bed looks like a nice find!!

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

You were pretty close to us, we're just below Greenville in Anderson! That long bed looks like a nice find!!

Yeah, not too far! Had a good time at the Fall Festival in Greenville. Didn't realize it was going on until we kept seeing tons of people walking downtown, & certain roads were blocked. Went to see the covered bridge in Landrum, which was neat. Would like to get back up that way to do some more exploring. The LWB truck was not too far from downtown Greenville.

[Alan's Classic]

It's amazing what you run into on drives.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

It's amazing what you run into on drives.

I hear ya! We had gotten a little off track while trying to find parking in Downtown Greenville, & that's how I saw it. Had to make a U-turn anyway, so I told the wife that I had to stop. This looked to be a running/driving truck in original paint of course, & you just don't see those everyday.

Dad was out riding bikes a couple months or so ago & saw both a '64-66 4x4 and another 2wd (I think) of the same year range on the same property. I think he's gonna stop by & check them out sometime. Said they looked like they've been sitting a while.

It's fun to just ride the backroads. Never know what you'll see/find!

[C@rnut001]

I have to say that I love your truck and your wedding pictures. You need to get it running again and take some updated pictures of you and your wife together with your amazing truck! Anyway, good luck getting it together and on the road again.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by C@rnut001

I have to say that I love your truck and your wedding pictures. You need to get it running again and take some updated pictures of you and your wife together with your amazing truck! Anyway, good luck getting it together and on the road again.

Thank you! We were initially supposed to do an engagement session, & I had planned to use the truck for some of those. However, we were never able to get that set up & later moved away. So, we just substituted our session for a couple nice wedding albums & a larger portrait. I definitely plan to take more pics when it gets going again, whether my ugly head is in there or not.

[likaroc13]

Have a guy coming to look at the rolling chassis/drivetrain mentioned previously. If it works out, he'll be down on the 27th. If he buys it, guess the ole Powerglide will remain in duty a while longer. Gonna try to whip dad into shape while I'm home for the holidays. I wanna get this thing back up & going!

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everybody!

[flips72]

I think you need to pull the sparkplugs out of pops bike seriously I know it seems as though it is taking forever but you'll be driving it before you know. happy new year.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by flips72

I think you need to pull the sparkplugs out of pops bike seriously I know it seems as though it is taking forever but you'll be driving it before you know. happy new year.

Great idea! Maybe one will mysteriously make it's way to SC. Happy New Year to you as well.

[likaroc13]

Well, we made a little progress. Just wasn't on mine. While I was home for the holidays, my dad sold the '63-66 rolling chassis/drivetrain. Then a couple days later he sold an original rolling chassis he had from a parts truck. I've been funneling the traffic & keeping the for sale ads updated since he's without a computer right now. If it don't burn a hole in his pocket, that'll give him a little extra cash to put towards the Burb in the future. However, one day while riding his bike he spotted a '64-66 four-wheel drive sitting off the road . He wanted me to go with him to check it out, but we unfortunately didn't get to make it happen this time.

I could've sold "Black Betty" at least a few different times while I was home. Dad has a friend who has been asking about it, & a couple guys who came over to see about trimming some trees asked if I'd sell it. I just have to shake my head & say no. They aren't the first to ask & won't be the last. I haven't even gotten to enjoy it enough to even consider letting it go. Not to mention it's a little sentimental. It's the first classic I've ever purchased with my own money, & it was part of my wedding as most already know. I bought it in July '09 & drove it the rest of that Summer/Fall. We moved to Jackson, MS in January 2010. I drove it that Spring, before tearing it down for the rear end rebuild that following Summer. I then drove it to/from our wedding & once more in November that year before tearing it down again. Then we moved away to Charleston in March 2011. Overall, I haven't even spent a full year behind the wheel since owning it.

[likaroc13]

About 3 months or so ago my dad bought a rat rod. It belonged to a guy he works with, & the guy was in the process of moving. He got tired of messing with it, so he decided to put it up for sale. Dad told him to get it running & he'd buy it. Well, they changed the fuel pump & had it running. After dad bought it, it began having some issues again. It's not getting fuel to the injectors for some reason, but it'll run if you pour fuel down the throttle body. It's sitting at his friend Mark's house until they get it figured out. It's a 30's Olds body that was chopped up & put on a '94 Dodge Dakota chassis/drivetrain. It needs a little TLC for sure. Dad said he'd like to build a wood bed for it, & it needs a seat setup. He said he wasn't fond of the wooden roof either & would rather have metal. I'm not sure how much money he'll actually put into it, as it's not something he plans to keep.

Here's a few pics:

[NEWFISHER]

Check out a middle bench or rear bench from a plymouth or dodge caravan late 90's early 2000's. The fit great in Model A's